Dallas Crisis Intervention Program Aims to Prevent Crime and Relieve Police

A new Dallas crisis intervention program is up and running as part of a menu of public safety solutions that do not involve police officers.

Police are often called for crisis situations that officers are not equipped to handle and might be solved better by social workers.

That is the role of the new crisis intervention program. It puts social workers on wheels to respond to those situations.

Raven Comer-Mathis is one of 16 people hired for the new program.

“We can get out and meet people where they are if they’re having a crisis at home or at work or if they are just walking down the street and they had a medic attack. We can meet them where they are,” she said. “We've helped individuals get groceries. I've also helped someone understand the eviction process, so they won't get evicted. And also helping out in school making sure parents get the resources they need to help their children.”

Crisis Intervention Supervisor Ashlyn Fisher said members of the team are trained in mental health and social work to tackle problems that may be overwhelming for clients.

“We will walk with the person, take those steps for them. We will make the phone calls, get the appointments scheduled,” she said.

The crisis intervention program is part of the list of services at the new Office of Integrated Public Safety Solutions at Dallas City Hall.

After 30 years on the Dallas Police force, retired Chief David Pughes said he uses the insight he gained from all that experience to oversee the new office.

“We can get people the help they really need and at the same time release police to be able to respond to in-progress crime situations that are happening,” Pughes said. “The city is committed to looking at things differently, holistically, from the root cause level and really helping people and helping communities.”

Also on the menu:

• The Right Care program sends mental health professionals along with paramedics and police on certain police calls.

• Violence Interrupters, many of whom are ex-cons, work in high-crime neighborhoods to help prevent violence.

• Risk Terrain Modeling, for predictive, policing to remove conditions that contribute to crime including blight, abandoned buildings and poor night lighting.

Pughes said the new solutions help address frustration officers felt over the years with chronic problems they saw in neighborhoods.

“We knew that we were going to be dealing with certain situations over and over again because we only had temporary fixes that we could deal with to keep people safe. That’s all we had, a temporary fix. That’s where I’m excited for something that’s long-term, sustainable and really changes the dynamics that are occurring in some of these communities,” Pughes said.

Fisher said the crisis intervention program specializes in cutting red tape and thinking outside the box to solve challenges for clients.

“The reward comes when we know that we are helping people and we can see the progress,” she said.

Pughes said two more members will be added to the crisis intervention team for overnight response.